Oil Prices Surge Nearly 10% — US Forces To Resume Maritime Blockade Against Iran On Tuesday

• The U.S. Central Command said U.S. forces will enforce the blockade on vessels entering or leaving Iranian ports starting July 14 at 4 p.m. ET.
• Trump said the Strait of Hormuz will remain open for all nations except Iran, escalating pressure on Tehran.
• U.S. equities were trading lower at the time of writing on Monday afternoon.

The U.S. military will begin enforcing a maritime blockade on Iran on Tuesday, the U.S. Central Command said on Monday. The announcement came after President Donald Trump said earlier on Monday that the U.S. had reinstated a naval blockade against Iran as Tehran and Washington battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Oil prices jumped following the developments. While Brent crude futures (CO1), the international benchmark, gained around 9% to $83 a barrel, West Texas Intermediate futures (CL1) was up 9% at $77.83 at the time of writing, according to Koyfin.

At the time of writing on Monday, the United States Oil Fund ETF (USO) jumped nearly 9%, while the ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil ETF (UCO) surged around 12%. The USO was also among the top 10 trending tickers on Stocktwits on Monday afternoon.

CENTCOM Details Blockade Enforcement

The U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said in a post on X that at the Commander in Chief's direction, U.S. forces will resume blockading maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports beginning July 14 at 4 p.m. ET.

“CENTCOM forces will enforce the blockade against vessels transiting to or from Iranian ports and coastal areas. The U.S. military continues to support traffic flow through regional waters for all vessels not violating the blockade,” the post stated.

CENTCOM said the renewed operation follows the initial implementation between April 13 and June 18, during which forces “redirected more than 140 compliant vessels, disabled nine non-compliant ships, and allowed over 50 commercial vessels supporting humanitarian aid to pass through the blockade.”

It also advised mariners operating in the Gulf of Oman and approaches to the Strait of Hormuz to monitor Notice to Mariners broadcasts and contact U.S. naval forces on bridge-to-bridge channel 16.

Trump Says Strait Of Hormuz Will Remain Open

Earlier on Monday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the Iranian blockade had been reinstated following hostilities between the U.S. and Iran that began last week.

“The Hormuz Strait is open, and will remain open, with or without Iran. We are reinstating the Iranian blockade, so named because it is only stopping Iran's ships or customers from entering or leaving," Trump said, adding that all countries except Iran will have fair and open access to the Strait of Hormuz.

SPY, QQQ, DIA: What Retail Sentiment Says

U.S. equities were trading lower at the time of writing on Monday afternoon. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, fell 0.72%, while the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) declined 0.23%. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) slipped nearly 2%.

Retail sentiment was ‘neutral’ for the Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ), while sentiment for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) and the SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) remained in ‘bullish’ territory.

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